e-4593 Environment
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled
Whereas:
Guelph City Council has approved the boundaries for a Heritage Conservation District on parts of the former Ontario Reformatory grounds;
This 108-hectare property is part of an ecosystem that protects biodiversity, supports watershed resilience to climate change and connects people to nature through education and stewardship;
The site includes an abundance of Natural Heritage features in harmony with Cultural Heritage elements that have connected people to nature for a century;
Recognizing the history of Indigenous incarceration on this site provides a path to reconciliation and healing by exemplifying the harm done to Indigenous communities by the Canadian justice system;
This site would be a hub providing valuable connectivity to nearby and distant wetlands and river systems;
The site has been identified as surplus by the Province of Ontario;
The site is adjacent to the Eramosa River, a major tributary of the Grand River designated as one of the Canadian Heritage River Systems by Parks Canada in 1994;
The site is adjacent to an identified First Nations archeological site dating back to 8,500 BCE;
We recognize after the world-wide Covid pandemic the irreplaceable value of parks, nature, and open space.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to direct Parks Canada to work with the appropriate landowners, stakeholders, governments and First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples to create a National Urban Park on the site of Guelph’s proposed Ontario Reformatory Heritage Conservation District.
Whereas:
Guelph City Council has approved the boundaries for a Heritage Conservation District on parts of the former Ontario Reformatory grounds;
This 108-hectare property is part of an ecosystem that protects biodiversity, supports watershed resilience to climate change and connects people to nature through education and stewardship;
The site includes an abundance of Natural Heritage features in harmony with Cultural Heritage elements that have connected people to nature for a century;
Recognizing the history of Indigenous incarceration on this site provides a path to reconciliation and healing by exemplifying the harm done to Indigenous communities by the Canadian justice system;
This site would be a hub providing valuable connectivity to nearby and distant wetlands and river systems;
The site has been identified as surplus by the Province of Ontario;
The site is adjacent to the Eramosa River, a major tributary of the Grand River designated as one of the Canadian Heritage River Systems by Parks Canada in 1994;
The site is adjacent to an identified First Nations archeological site dating back to 8,500 BCE;
We recognize after the world-wide Covid pandemic the irreplaceable value of parks, nature, and open space.
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons in Parliament assembled to direct Parks Canada to work with the appropriate landowners, stakeholders, governments and First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples to create a National Urban Park on the site of Guelph’s proposed Ontario Reformatory Heritage Conservation District.